Jo Holdaway – Vector genius in a shrinking world.

It’s true – not only has the digital revolution meant that you can fit your entire office in the palm of your hand, it means you have the freedom to live wherever your heart desires and still be in touch with the ‘real’ world at the press of a button. Talented Vector artist Jo Holdaway shows you how it’s done…

“I am an English illustrator, currently living in Amsterdam. My studio space is a caravan in a forest 10k south of central Amsterdam. It’s a peaceful spot and pretty comfortable to work and spend time in…. even though it sounds a bit…um…pikey?!! It’s lovely to watch the seasons change because visually it’s pretty dramatic; from being surrounded by leaves, flowers, wildlife, colour and activity of the summer to quite a bleak, frozen, grey landscape in the winter. People paddle past my back garden in a canoe one month, and the next they are on ice skates!

Before moving to the Netherlands I spent 5 years working as an art and photography teacher in Bristol. Great fun, but full time became a bit too much and I wanted to get back to what I love doing most – creating illustrations and paintings.

I grew up in Somerset and went to Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall, so the outdoors is where I feel at home and alive. I think this comes through quite strongly in my flat-colour illustrations – bold, bright, strong light, clean lines and detail. I particularly enjoy illustrating people, capturing expressions and am regularly commissioned to create personal pieces, quite often children. If requested, I can then make the digital illustration into an acrylic painting on a block of wood.

I have created numerous illustrations for various projects, The Holland Times newspaper is a regular client and I’ve recently had work published in a beautiful UK cycling magazine The Ride.

Life has been quite an adventure for the last year and I don’t plan on it becoming any less interesting anytime soon!”

The illustrators we represent at The Illustrators Agency are living proof that you can, like Jo, live and work wherever your heart desires. We currently look after illustrators in Argentina, Italy, South Africa, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and many other far flung corners of the world. All of them are contactable by email immediately and you’ll never wait more than 12 hours for a reply.

The days of clients actually wanting to ‘meet’ an illustrator are rapidly disappearing. By the time you’ve driven through traffic or waited for a train to make a 9am meeting, you could have received a brief and sent the first drafts for approval!